The European Commission today approved a positive preliminary assessment of Greece’s € 3.6 billion disbursement request under the Recovery Fund (Next GenerationEU).
The € 3.6 billion disbursement concerns € 1.7 billion in grants and almost € 1.9 billion in loans, under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the main instrument of the Recovery Fund.
The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated: “Greece is ready to receive its first payment from NextGenerationEU. Once the Member States give the green light, we will disburse 3.6 billion euros in Greece. The country has made good progress in implementing the recovery plan, through reforms in electricity mobility, in regulating the labor market and in implementing the credit facility framework. We will continue to support Greece on the ambitious course of recovery. “
In fact, she published a relevant post on her Twitter account, written in Greek:
Greece is ready to receive its first payment under it #NextGenerationEU.
Once approved by the EU Member States, ???????? will receive this first payment of € 3.6 billion. pic.twitter.com/YEmuYAcL4M
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 28, 2022
It is recalled that on December 29, 2021, Greece submitted to the Commission a request for payment based on the achievement of the 15 milestones selected in the Executive Decision of the Council for the first tranche. They cover reforms and investments in the fields of energy efficiency, electricity mobility, waste management, labor market, taxation, business environment, healthcare, public transport, and the Greek control system for the implementation of the RRF. The submission of the first payment request by Greece followed a period of close cooperation between the Greek authorities and the Commission for the preparation of the data proving the satisfactory fulfillment of the milestones included in the payment request.
According to the Commission, the milestones achieved show significant progress made in implementing Greece’s recovery and resilience plan and its broader reform agenda. They include important measures such as the introduction of the Loan Facility framework and the start of lending through commercial banks and international financial institutions, which are expected to channel significant liquidity to private investment over the next five years, the launch of significant investments, such as improving energy efficiency and the entry into force of new labor legislation, a new legal framework for the organization of the electric vehicle market and the new law on waste management.
At their request, the Greek authorities provided detailed and complete data proving the fulfillment of the 15 milestones. The Commission evaluated this information thoroughly before submitting a positive preliminary assessment of the payment claim.
The Greek recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investments and reform measures in four thematic components (green transition, digital transformation, employment, skills and social cohesion, private investment and economic transformation). The total plan amounts to 30.5 billion euros (17.77 billion euros in grants and 12.73 billion euros in loans, 13% of which (3.96 billion euros) was disbursed in Greece in pre-financing on 9 August 2021).
RRF payments are performance-based and depend on the implementation of investments and reforms by the Member States outlined in the respective recovery and resilience plans.
The Commission has now sent its positive preliminary assessment of Greece ‘s fulfillment of the milestones required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), seeking its opinion. The EFC opinion, which will be issued within a maximum of four weeks, should be taken into account in the Commission evaluation. Following the EFC opinion, the Commission will make the final decision on the disbursement of the financial contribution, in accordance with the examination procedure. After the issuance of this decision, the disbursement will take place to Greece.
The Commission will evaluate further payment requests from Greece based on the fulfillment of the subsequent milestones and targets described in the Council Implementing Decision, reflecting progress in implementing investments and reforms.
Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said: “Greece has made a good start in implementing its ambitious recovery and resilience plan, successfully completing the fifteen milestones associated with its first payment request. In the field of climate and environment, these are related to renovations to enhance the energy efficiency of residential buildings, the creation of charging points for electric vehicles and a new law on waste management. The new labor legislation and the reform of OAED, the public employment services of Greece, should give impetus to job creation. The digital transition will be supported through a new IT tool for labor market monitoring and steps to promote private investment in digitization and innovation. Last but not least, Greece has launched the new loan facility, which will provide significant liquidity to the private sector over the next five years. “
The vice-president of the Commission, Valdis Dobrovskis, in charge of economic affairs, stated: “Well done to Greece, which achieved the first 15 milestones in the plan of recovery and resilience. The national plan will help it get on the road to recovery “, stressing that now it must be ensured that the plan will be fully implemented and that this good progress will continue.
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